The recipe for a bakingfreak

Baking is an art, and it is much more than baking cookies. It is comforting people and showing that you care

Monday, November 20, 2006

Speculaas-almondpaste Cookiehearts

These wonderfull Speculaas-almondpaste cookies made the whole house smell like Winter.The lovely spicyness of the Speculaasspices, and the sweetness of the almond paste are sure a winner. Recipe will follow soon.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Pumpkin goodness

I started off with a fresh pumpkin. To prepare:1. Cut in half2. Place cut side down on an oiled bakingsheet, cover with aluminiumfoil.3. Place in 175 degrees oven4. Bake for 1,5 hour5. Take out of oven, leave to cool for a bit, scoop out pumpkin flesh with spoon6. Mash pumpkinflesh with pureemaker7. Ready to use.

Friday, November 10, 2006

BANANANANANACAKE

BANANACAKE.This is a really easy recipe, adapted from the Allrecipes website. I really love it.I added some chopped up dutch semi-sweet chocolate, and it was absolutely delicious. I love it warm when the chocolate is oozing out (see picture), and the top is still dry, but it has a stronger bananaflavour the next day. This cake freezes beautifully, and i like to slice it, wrap it and take pieces with me in my brownbag lunches or long flights.

BANANA-CHOCOLATE CAKE (adapted from: a number 1 banana cake, allrecipes)INGREDIENTS2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking soda1 pinch salt1/2 cup unsalted butter1 cup white sugar3/4 cup light brown sugar2 eggs4 ripe bananas, mashed2/3 cup buttermilk (i use vinegar/milk)1/2 cup chopped up chocolate barsDIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 - 8 inch round pans or a 13 by 19 inch rectangle baking pan. I like to put some parchmentpaper on the buttered pan, and let it hang over the edges, so i can lift the finished cake out of the pan using the parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt; set aside.In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the bananas. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Stir in chopped chocolate. Pour batter into the prepared pans/pan.Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and place on a damp tea towel to cool.

To make buttermilk: Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and enough milk to equal one cup. Stir. Leave to stand for a bit till thickened. Use as buttermilk replacement.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Oatmeal Blueberry Orange bread

Recipe adapted from the booklet that belongs to the Kitchen Aid mixer. I got it from the KitchenAid website, as i don't own a kitchenAid yet. It is a lovely smelling bread with a hint of citrus and bursting with blueberries, and with a crunch from the oatmeal. I love it.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Market day

Oh wonderfull saturday market....how you surprised me with small punnets of blueberries for only 80 cent a punnet...instead of the usual 2,50 euro's.And oh the sheer joy of thinking about what to do with my found treasure....

Thursday, October 12, 2006

German Chocolate cake

This is an amazing cake. Moist, chocolaty, nice frosting.The original recipe came from allrecipes.com, but it needed some modifications.So, i doubled the amount of chocolate in the cake, used good quality dutch chocolate, i toasted the coconut before using it, and, toasted some more coconut to decorate with. Yummy.Every one raved about this cake. I made it twice now, and you really only need to frost the middle and the top, as it is a really 'heavy'cake. Really filling. So. Top and middle is enough.

DIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch round pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat water and 8 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.Pour into 3 - 9 inch pans Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.To make the Filling: In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and 1 ounce of chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle down the sides of the cake.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Korean Food

Wonderfull South Korean food cooked by my sister in law YiHye.It was Korean thanksgiving today, so she and my brother came over with a storm of food. It was yummy, don't ask me what it was, besides rice and kim Chi.